Page 21 of State of Retribution (First Family #9)

V ernon walked inside with her.

Lindsey came out of the morgue to hug Sam. “Thank goodness you’re all right. How’s Jimmy?”

“Injured, but not life-threatening.”

“That’s great news.”

“For sure.”

“Are you doing okay?”

“I’m just dandy.”

Lindsey shook her head, her dismay apparent. “I can’t believe someone would have the nerve to shoot at you.”

“You can’t? Really?”

“Well, I can, but goddamn them to hell for it.”

Sam smiled at her friend. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. Thanks for not getting shot.”

“Nick said the same thing.”

“He must be losing it.”

“He is. I feel terrible about that when he’s already dealing with so much crap. Just another thing.”

“You’re hardly just another thing to him, and you know it.”

“I do, but thanks for the reminder.”

“Do you have another shirt to change into?”

Sam glanced down at her blood-covered top, which she’d somehow failed to notice before Lindsey mentioned it. “Nope.”

“I’ve got one you can borrow.”

Sam followed Lindsey into a back room where staff kept personal items. Lindsey got a T-shirt out of a locker. “Best I can do.”

“That’ll work.” Sam took off the soiled top and put on the T-shirt.

Sam hugged her friend. “Thanks for the shirt. Gotta get back to some semblance of work. Today’s been a mess.”

“Any progress?”

“A very little.”

“Let me know if I can help.”

“Will do. Thanks, Doc.”

Sam and Vernon continued on to the pit, where everything came to a stop when she walked in.

“Sam,” Detective Charles said on a long exhale. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Good to be seen.”

“How’s Jimmy?” Detective Green asked.

“He’s expected to survive with a gunshot wound to the arm, a broken rib and a collapsed lung.”

Cam winced. “Ouch.”

“Thank God for the vest that saved his life.” She paused before she added, “Look, I know we’re all rattled by the day’s events, especially after what happened yesterday, but it would help me to keep the focus on the case, so let’s meet in the conference room in five to regroup. Okay?”

They nodded and murmured their agreement.

Sam went into her office, removed her jacket and sat for a second behind the desk to catch her breath.

She took a call from Freddie. “How’s it going?”

“We walked the full distance to Harlowe’s extended-stay hotel and nothing stood out, but we’ve identified all the cameras in the area and are working on figuring out who owns the ones that aren’t ours and how to get access to the footage.”

“Good work. Thank you for carrying on.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask how Jimmy is.”

Sam gave him the same update she’d given the others.

“Well, that’s a freaking relief.”

“Sure is.”

“We’ll be back in shortly.”

“See you then.”

“Sam…”

“I know. I’m okay. I promise. We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

She closed her phone and exhaled, trying to find her groove, which was hard to do when she was so rattled.

Dr. Trulo appeared in her doorway. “Holy. Shit . Am I glad to see you.”

Sam smiled at him. “You missed all the excitement.”

“I heard Jimmy is expected to survive?”

“Yes, thank goodness. He’s an expectant dad with his high school sweetheart.”

“Is there anything I can do for you, friend?”

“Not right now, but thanks for checking. I may need you when the dust settles.”

“I’m always here for you.”

“Thank you. How’d you make out with Harlowe?”

“We had a good talk. She’s got a long road ahead of her if her memory returns—or if it doesn’t.”

“What do you think the odds are that it will?”

“She’s young and healthy, so it’s a good possibility that it will.”

“I hope she can handle what she remembers if it does.”

“That’s the kicker, of course. She’s being very well cared for by our friend Archie.”

“He’s smitten.”

“So it seems. I’ll be checking in with both of them as things unfold.”

“You’re the best.”

“Just doing my job.”

“You do much more than that, and we all know it.”

“Kind of you to say. I assume you won’t make the grief group meeting tonight.”

Sam had forgotten about it. “I don’t think so. I should go home and touch base. They’ll be upset about the day’s events, and Aubrey had a tough day at school, apparently.”

“Don’t worry about anything. Take care of your family. I’ll cover it for us.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Sam grabbed a notebook and pen and followed him out of the office. “See you later.”

“Call if you need me. Any time.”

“Will do.”

She was thankful to be so well supported in all aspects of her crazy life. There was a time, not that long ago, when she would’ve chafed against the constant “people-ing” and nonstop conversations that came with that tremendous support. Now she took comfort in them.

In the conference room, she found Captain Malone, Deputy Chief McBride and Chief Farnsworth waiting for her.

“Who called in the brass?”

“Lieutenant…” The chief looked at her with a combination of deep-seated affection and despair over her ordeal.

“I’m fine, and thankfully Jimmy is too. I appreciate the concern. What’re we hearing about the search for the shooter?”

“They believe it was another drone,” Malone said. “Massive manhunt underway.”

Sam’s heart sank at the word drone . “I assume it’s all over the news?”

“You assume correctly,” McBride said. “We’re being overrun with requests for a comment from you.”

“I’ll get to it. First things first, are there any updates on the case?”

“We’ve scoured the financials and social media of all our victims and haven’t found anything that stands out or any commonalities,” Charles said. “By all accounts, they seem to be regular people going about their lives, minding their own business.”

“What are you hearing from Walters in IT about film in the areas of the attacks?” Sam asked.

“They’re still reviewing,” Green said, “but nothing useful yet. Freddie and Gonzo have been sending info about the cameras in Adams Morgan that we’re forwarding to IT for review. We’ve offered to help if they need some extra eyes. Walters said he’d let us know.”

“What’s the theory about whether the Adams Morgan kidnapping and assault are related to the other three victims?” Malone asked.

“We’re not sure yet,” Sam said. “Other than the hallmark knock to the back of the head, the rest of that situation is very different from the others. She was kidnapped, held for multiple days and sexually assaulted, whereas our other victims were killed instantly or left for dead.” Sam’s shoulders and neck were tight with the tension that came from frustration at not having more information after a full day of digging.

She had the starting of one hell of a headache, too.

Captain Norris from Public Affairs came to the door. “Sorry to interrupt. I heard the lieutenant was back. Are you able to make a statement before they knock down the doors?”

“Yes, I can do that.” It was the last thing she felt like doing, but there was never a time when briefing the press appealed to her.

Least of all when she was the story, which had happened far too often for her liking.

“Give me five minutes to make myself presentable.” That was another thing she’d never cared much about until she was married to a high-profile politician.

They’d take far too much pleasure in her looking like a hag.

To her team, she said, “Keep pulling the threads, people, and then turn it over to Carlucci and Dominguez. We’ll reconvene at zero eight hundred.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Green said for all of them.

Sam went into her office to brush her hair and touch up the makeup she wiped off after the shooting. She took a series of deep breaths to calm her nerves and brace herself for the onslaught.

“We need ten minutes to get our people in place,” Vernon said.

“Okay.”

Malone came to the door and nodded to Vernon as he stepped aside. “I can do it for you if you don’t feel up to it.”

“That’s okay, but thanks for offering. Let’s get it over with.”

“We’re all going out with you.”

“Thanks, Cap.”

“Too fucking close, LT. Too fucking close.”

She grabbed her jacket and put it on. “Yeah, for sure.” The day’s events were also a reminder that even world-class security could do only so much to keep their family safe against people who’d do them harm.

No team could cover every possible eventuality, especially when the culprits were coming at them from the air using devices that couldn’t be traced.

When she was as ready as she’d ever be for a grilling by the press, she walked with Malone and Vernon to the lobby, where the chief and Jeannie waited for them.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” the chief asked.

“As much as I ever am.”

“We’re with you, kid,” he said.

“That makes all the difference.”

“Are we ready?” she asked Vernon.

“Yes, ma’am.”

When they stepped outside into the crisp spring breeze, Sam zipped her jacket. She was aware of Vernon standing closer to her than he normally did at these things. His presence made her feel safer.

The reporters started shouting questions at her the second they saw her and didn’t let up until she held up her hands to quiet them.

“I’ll make a brief statement and then take a few questions.

First things first, we’re continuing to work the case involving three victims who were seemingly killed in random attacks over the weekend.

” She listed their names and ages. “We’re further looking into a fourth incident that may or may not be related.

We’ll have more for you on that as our investigation continues. ”

“Who shot at you, Lieutenant?” a reporter asked.